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Old Westminister

Take it Easy Piquette 2021

Price: $26.95
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Tasting notes

This is genuinely one of the few American piquettes in bottle form, and Old Westminster has been doing it longer than almost anyone on the East Coast. The Chambourcin brings natural pink juice and a saline, tart-cherry sharpness that keeps it interesting even at 10% ABV — it tastes like it has more going on than something this light should.

BodyFruitTanninAcidity
Tart CherryRaspberryGooseberrySaline
  • Style: Hazy pink; tart cherry, raspberry, and saline edge; 10% ABV; drink cold and soon
  • Grapes & Terroir: 60% Chambourcin rosé, 35% Piquette Blanc, 5% Piquette Rouge; verjus addition; Carroll County, Maryland; 800ft elevation; channery loam over greenstone schist
  • Winemaking: Pomace re-ferment blended with Chambourcin rosé; wild yeast fermentation; no fining, no filtration; brightened with verjus
  • Serving: Serve well-chilled at 40-45F; no decant needed; drink now
  • Pairing: White pizza, oysters, chevre, charcuterie, pickled vegetables
  • Similar To: For fans of dry, tart, low-ABV rosé who want something closer to a vinous spritzer than a conventional wine

Piquette is made by rehydrating grape pomace with water after the primary juice has been pressed off, triggering a second spontaneous fermentation with the residual sugar and wild yeast still clinging to the skins. The result is a lower-alcohol, wine-like beverage that was historically given to vineyard laborers throughout Europe as a harvest-time drink. Old Westminster has been among the first American producers to revive and document the style, releasing it first as a pét-nat piquette before developing this still, blended version.

Take it Easy is a blend of 60% Chambourcin rosé, 35% piquette blanc, and 5% piquette rouge, brightened with verjus. Chambourcin is a French-American hybrid teinturier grape, meaning its juice is naturally pink rather than clear, which gives this piquette its hazy pink color even at low extraction. The wine is fermented with wild yeast and bottled without fining or filtration. ABV comes in at 10%, reflecting the diluted nature of a pomace re-ferment.

On the nose: tart red cherry, raspberry vinegar, and pomegranate. On the palate it delivers white cherry, gooseberry, and a distinct saline edge, with a small addition of verjus sharpening the acidity in place of added sulfites. It drinks very lightly, with a slight spritz in some bottles from residual CO2. Drink immediately.

Old Westminster farms its Home Vineyard in Carroll County, Maryland at 800 feet elevation on channery loam soils over a bedrock of greenstone schist. Vineyard management is pragmatic and mostly organic, with cover crops rotated to reduce inputs and encourage vine health. All fruit is hand-picked; winemaker Lisa Hinton ferments with indigenous yeast and avoids fining and filtration across the entire portfolio.

Serve cold with white pizza, charcuterie, or soft fresh cheeses like chevre or burrata. The saline acidity makes it a natural match for anything briny — oysters, pickled vegetables, or a simple salted focaccia. Works well as a lower-ABV aperitif on a warm afternoon.

Wine details

Dry/Sweet:, Dry
Wine Type:, Rose Wine
Wine Style:, Light Body
Grapes:, Chambourcin, Piquette Blanc, Piquette Rouge
Farming:, Sustainable
Vintage:, 2021
Alcohol:, 10%
Country:, USA
Region:, Maryland
Appellation:, Maryland
Bottle Size:, 750ml
Sugar Level:, Zero Added Sugar

We will process and ship your order in 2-3 business days, you will receive a shipping confirmation email with tracking as soon as the Carrier scans the shipping label.

Ground shipping time depends on location, here's a breakdown:

West Coast: 1-2 business days
Midwest: 3-4 business days
East Coast: 5 business days

Process time is not shipping time. Shipping time starts from the days successive to the day of shipping, after the order has been processed.

See here our shipping policy.


Important Compliance Requirements

FedEx and other carriers we might occasionally use can only deliver wine to customers who are 21 years or older. Someone must be at the address to receive the package, carriers don't just drop a package and leave. They must ensure the person receiving the wine is 21 or older.


Re-shipping a Package

If a package is returned to us after three failed delivery attempts, we can only re-ship the wine upon payment of a re-shipping fee, to be determined based on the shipping address and number of bottles. Shipping wine is extremely expensive. We are sorry about this, but we have no other choice. Please make sure there's always someone at the address you enter as your shipping address.

If you'd like to receive a refund for a package that was returned to us after FedEx made three delivery attempts, we can do that but we must keep a $20 refund fee; FedEx charges us a lot of money for returns, unfortunately, I can't stress this enough.


Re-routing a Package

If you'd like to reroute a package after it's been shipped, we can do so for a $20 re-routing fee. We cannot re-route a package across state borders. For any change of address, please contact us as soon as possible, ideally within 1-2 days from placing the order or we cannot guarantee we'll be able to reroute or change your order's shipping address.


Canceling an Order

If you'd like to cancel an order after it's been shipped, we can do so upon payment of a small cancellation fee – the amount depends on the size of the order. Carriers charge us a lot of money to recall a package en-route.


Heat/Frost damage

We are not responsible for heat- or frost-related issues. We offer ice-packs upon request. Please let us know if you think that there could be heat-related issues. If we don't hear anything from you regarding weather issues before an order is shipped, or if you don't request a hold due to the weather, we are not responsible for heat/frost damage.


Placed an order. What next?

1. You will receive an order confirmation email with your order summary.*

2. As soon as your order ships from the warehouse, usually within 2-3 business days, this applies to all shipping rates, you will receive a shipping confirmation email with your tracking information. 2DAY shipping refers to shipping time; we still need 2-3 business days to prepare an order. We need to pick and pack, QA, add printed collateral, and palletize the orders.

3. Please track your package using the tracking service.

4. The carrier will attempt delivery a maximum of 3 times. After 3 delivery attempts, your package will be sent back to our warehouse.**

*Please ensure your email address is correct; otherwise, you will not receive the order and shipping confirmation emails.

**If delivery is attempted 3 times without success, or if you fail to retrieve your package from the carrier depot by the stated deadline, the shipping fee will not be refunded to the customer.

Returns Policy

If you are not satisfied with your purchase, please contact us at (424) 414-2040 or via e-mail at hello@primalwine.com between 9 am and 5 pm Pacific Standard Time, Monday through Sunday, we would like to understand and try to solve your concerns. We can offer refunds only as store credit.

Producer profile

Old Westminister

Old Westminster Winery was founded in 2010 by three siblings: Drew Baker, who manages the vineyards; Lisa Hinton, who handles winemaking; and Ashli Johnson, who oversees operations and hospitality. The Baker family farm in Westminster, Maryland had been in operation since 1985. Vineyard planting began in 2011 with Cabernet Franc, Syrah, Chardonnay, and Albariño at the Home Vineyard. The winery also sources fruit from neighboring vineyards including Cool Ridge on South Mountain and Links Bridge Vineyard on the Monocacy River.

Farming at Old Westminster is largely organic and entirely hand-done, from winter pruning through harvest. Drew Baker rotates spray programs to limit resistance buildup and uses diverse cover crops to encourage beneficial insects and stronger vine immune systems. The winery does not hold a certified organic designation and uses synthetic inputs selectively when they are deemed less intrusive than organic alternatives for Maryland's demanding climate. Biodynamic practices are being explored on an experimental basis.

Winemaker Lisa Hinton ferments all wines with indigenous yeast, moves juice by gravity rather than pumps, and bottles without fining or filtration. The winery uses minimal added sulfites. Old Westminster was among the first producers on the American East Coast to bottle piquette commercially and was the first Maryland winery to can natural wines. The Take it Easy series blends Chambourcin rosé wine directly with piquette ferments, creating a hybrid style that is part still wine, part pomace re-ferment, and acidulated with verjus.

Wine region

Maryland, USA

Old Westminster sits in Carroll County in northern Maryland, within the broader Mid-Atlantic Piedmont plateau. The winery's Home Vineyard is planted at 800 feet elevation on channery loam soils over a bedrock of greenstone schist, which drains excess precipitation efficiently and contributes distinct minerality. Constant breezes at elevation help manage humidity from the Chesapeake Bay watershed, reducing fungal pressure — a significant concern in Maryland's humid continental climate.

Maryland has no single dominant wine appellation comparable to Virginia's Monticello or New York's Finger Lakes; wines are typically labeled under the Maryland state appellation. The state's Piedmont growing conditions share latitudinal and topographic characteristics with parts of the Loire Valley, with warm summers, cold winters, and variable growing seasons that favor both vinifera varieties like Cabernet Franc, Chardonnay, and Albariño, as well as disease-resistant French-American hybrids like Chambourcin, which is well-suited to the region's humidity and rainfall.

Frequently asked question

We will process and ship your order in 2-3 business days, you will receive a shipping confirmation email with tracking as soon as the Carrier scans the shipping label.

Ground shipping time depends on location, here's a breakdown:

West Coast: 1-2 business days
Midwest: 3-4 business days
East Coast: 5 business days

Process time is not shipping time. Shipping time starts from the days successive to the day of shipping, after the order has been processed.

See here our shipping policy.

Signature on delivery is mandatory for wine deliveries. Please make sure someone is at the shipping address to sign for the package.

If applicable, please consider delivering the package to a business address to ensure someone is available to sign for the package.

We also have the option of delivering the package to a Carrier's store for pickup. Please reach out to us to coordinate.

Carrier will try to delivery a package up to three times before returning the package to us.

See here our shipping policy.

If you miss a delivery and a package gets returned to us we have two options:

1) Reship the package right away: due to the very high cost of shipping and returns, we must charge a re-shipping fee to be determined based on package size and shipping destination.

2) Consolidate the returned package with your next order: this option is free of charge and it's the most popular option.

See here our shipping policy.

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